Freefly Systems, the pioneers of handheld gimbal stabilizers, have taken some of the technology from their higher-end MōVIs and shrunk it smartly to fit smartphones. Take a look at their new “Personal Cinema Robot” – The Movi.
The Movi (not to be confused with the MōVI) is a stabilization gimbal dedicated for the iPhone specifically. It features some dedicated ways of operating that are unlike things we’ve seen from other smartphone gimbals. It also comes in a more compact form factor which allows you to put it down.
Maybe the “new” name “Movi” is Freefly’s way of saying “we give up” on teaching everyone how to write “MōVI” ;-)
The Movi’s main features:
Fully integrated app.
Compatible with larger phones and lenses
Full axis controller (Pan and Roll motors).
Tough fiber reinforced plastic parts.
Screenshot from their Movi app
The product has various interesting dedicated shooting modes as explained by Freefly:
In order to better understand, check out their product demo here: http://gomovi.com/ or simply take a look at the video below:
Majestic: Classic single operator mode where you can control directly the Movi, like fast or slow movements. The Majestic mode turns bumpy moves into much more smooth cinematic shots.
Echo: Take aim, set your endpoints, define the move’s duration, and pull the trigger to achieve repeatable, automated camera moves, for single user execution.
Time-lapse:For timelapses purposes, define the movement path and duration, and tap go to achieve dynamic Movi-assisted time lapses for any directions (pan and tilt).
Movilapse: For motion timelapses, Grab the robot and go. Cover some serious distance and roll timelapse.
Orbit: Keep the shot fixed on your subject as you circle. Getting perfect wraparound footage is as easy as setting your direction, your speed, and triggering the action.
Price: $299. Preorders at B&H and CVP (and their website) have already started, see below. It will start shipping in March, 2018.
Here’s a cool piece that Tim Sessler shot with the Movi on an iPhone 8 in New York – VORTEX:
To be honest, it’s a bit confusing regarding the name (Movi vs his big brother – the MōVI), but besides this, it looks like it’s the most innovative stabilization rig for smartphones so far. Freefly Systems’ contribution to the filmmaking community has been huge, and certainly their new device is attempting to become a household name as an “everyman’s gimbal” for smartphone stabilisation.
However, so far we think this might only work with iPhones, not Android devices. We have reached out to Freefly to receive clarification on this and will update the post accordingly.
Gimbal settings in the Movi smartphone app
Would you use the Movi or it might be an overkill considering it aims for smartphone only?

While GoPro’s recent track record of new products is questionable, it’s undeniable that GoPro cameras are really everywhere, and a lot of professionals (me included) are using them for professional shoots frequently. One of the major problems with these tiny cameras though is their inherent rolling shutter. No matter what GoPro marketing videos tell you, it’s almost impossible to move the little buggers as they are without causing massive image-inherent earthquakes.
And this is where a gimbal stabiliser comes in. There’s a great number of them for GoPros on the market, however so far, not a single one was able to convince me. Most of them are cheap plastic copycat products where you don’t even know anymore where the original came from, and none of them was great on features or functionality.
Build Quality
In comes Korean manufacturer Removu with their smart GoPro gimbal, the Removu S1. First of all, it looks more professional and definitely better-build than the rest. Secondly, if you look closer, you will see a lot of smart ideas.
Part of the Package & Run-Through
It comes in a little splashproof pouch that holds all the items including accessories. The gimbal itself has three motors like most gimbals, but in this case they are waterproof. This thing can literally be used in the pouring rain without issues – we tested it. The gimbal can be mounted not only to the supplied handgrip, but also to standard GoPro accessories like the helmet mount or chest harness, for example. The grip also holds the removable remote, which allows remote control of the joystick. The supplied GoPro Hero4 and Hero5 housings are smartly designed, the camera just slides in and locks by pushing only one lever. The waterproof housing is similarly slim and smart and more compact than the original GoPro housing. All the housings mount easily on the gimbal itself.
Different Operation Modes
There are three modes of operation – Pan Mode, Follow Mode and Lock Mode. In Pan Mode, the camera simply pans when moving the gimbal, while the tilt is locked. In Follow Mode, both pan and tilt react to the operator’s movements. And finally in Lock Mode, neither pan nor tilt work, and the camera remains pointed in the same direction. All three modes are useful for different applications.
The Removu S1 Gimbal Stabiliser is waterproof – we tested it.
Performance
The Removu S1 performs very evenly across all three operation modes. While doing the review, we were running into one problem where the gimbal would tilt sideways and the horizon was completely off. Using the very simple instructions from the manual to calibrate the gimbal, it took us 5 minutes to get that corrected again. However don’t forget to take a small Philips screwdriver with you to do that, because you need to detach the GoPro mount at the bottom of the main housing.
Removu S1 mounted on a standard GoPro chest harness using the GoPro accessory mount.
Conclusion
I can see the Removu S1 in a lot of different hands, from video bloggers who are looking for an easy tool to film themselves steadily while walking, to action sports enthusiasts who finally want stable GoPro images off their helmets performing their kind of sport. The Removu S1 does what it promises and works better than their competition. If there is one downside I would say that it would have been nice to able to change the speed in which the gimbal reacts to movements – however the speed they chose seems to be a good compromise between stable images and “not moving too slow in most cases”. The Removu S1 is available now.